mccarthy



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

E. J. MCCARTHY, OF SAITGERTIES, NEN YORK.

FURNACE-GRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 24,815, dated July 19, 1859.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, E. J. MoCAR'rI-IY, of Saugerties, Ulster county,State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLocomotive Engines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forminglpart of this specification, in which- Figure l, represents a verticaltransverse section through the fire box of a locomotive engine, to whichmy improvement is applied. Fig. 2, represents a side view of the re box,and F ig. 3, represents a horizontal section through the fire box abovethe grate bars.

My improvement has reference to locomotive engines in which coal is usedas the fuel for generating steam.

The diliiculties attendant upon using coal as a fuel in locomotiveengines arise chiefly from its slowness of combustion, from its beingshaken into a compact mass by the motion of the engine, from the largeamount of earthy matter it contains, and from this earthy matter beingmelted by the intense heat of the fire, and forming what are termedclinkers which adhere to, and clog the grate bars. Thus the passage ofair through the lire, is obstructed and the coal prevented from burningunless lightened up, and the clinkers removed from the grate bars. Themethod heretofore most generally adopted in locomotive engines, to openthe fire and remove the clinkers has been by means of a poker operatedthrough the open door of the furnace, or by giving the grate bars avibratory or shaking motion. Neither these, nor any other of the modeshereto fore adopted efectually accomplish the ob 'ect.

J My invention for effecting this object consists in the application ofa secondary movable grate consisting of a series of blades connectedwith each other and arranged below and opposite the openings between thestationary grate bars, so that when raised up they will pass between andabove the upper surface of these bars, and thus raise up, andeftectually open the fire, free it from ashes, and remove and break upthe clinkers from the grate bars the entire width and length of the firebox; then drop the stationary grate when not in use, and beyond theinfluence of the intense heat of the fire which otherwise would warp,burn them out,

and render them unfit for use in a short time.

My invention will be more fully comprehended by reference to theaccompanying drawing in which is represented my improvenients applied tothe fire box of an ordinary locomotive engine.

The grate bars (A) of the tire box are arranged and supported in theordinary manner, and below the grate is a set of movable bars or blades(B) connected together, arranged parallel with, and directly beneath theopenings between the grate bars and extend the entire length of thegrate bars between the bearings. These blades are con nected with eachother by transverse bars (a) near the end and at the center. rIhe endbars extend through openings (2)) in the water legs on either side ofthe furnace, which serve as guides to retain the blades in place andparallel with the grate bars. The outer ends of the transverse bars areconnected by links (0) with levers (d) pivoted to the water legs at oneend and connected by links (e f) with a lever (g) which extends beyondthe face of the fire box.

For convenience of the fireman in operating the side levers they areconected together by a bar (L) extending across in front of the firebox.In depressing the bar (It) the blades are raised by the side leverspassed between the grate bars and above their upper surface, for theentire width and length of the grate, effectually remove the clinkersadhering to the grate bars, raise up and open the fire, so that thecinders and ashes sift through the coals and fall between the blades andgrate bars and are received in the ash pan. Thus a free passage for theair through the fire is opened-the draft increased whenever the gratebars become clogged and the fire deadened. 0n releasing the handle (g)the blades fall pass between the grate bars and remove any ashes orclinker adhering to their sides, and descend so far below as not toobstruct the free passage of the air between the bars, and also, so asnot to be beyond the influence of the intense heat of the furnace. I donot confine myself to precise number, form or arrangement cf thesemovableblades, provided they pass, when raised to their full height,between and above the grate bars, and when dropepd, fall below andbeyond the influence of the intense heat of the fire. Any form orarrangement of mechanism thought proper, may be used to raise 'thesebars, Yand instead of that I have proposed as this constitutes no partof my invention.

loW so far as not to obstruct the draft, and be beyond the influence ofthe intense heat of the furnace, as described for the purpose Havingthus described my improvement set forth. 15 5 in locomotive engines,what I claim there- In testimony whereof I have subscribed i in as new,and desire to secure by Letters my name. Patent, is-

E. J. MCCARTHY.

A furnace With a series of stationary grate bars 1n combination with aseries of i Witnesses:

0 movable blades, so arranged as to pass be tween and above the bars,and descend be- A. E. GREEN, GEO. T. I-IAWS.

